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Judge: US can show Apple e-book pricing conspiracy

The U.S. government has sufficient evidence to prove Apple participated in a conspiracy to raise e-book prices, U.S. District Judge Denise Cote said during a court conference. “I believe that the government will be able to show at trial direct evidence that Apple knowingly participated in and facilitated a conspiracy to raise prices of e-books, and that the circumstantial evidence in this case, including the terms of the agreements, will confirm that,” Cote said. The U.S. Department of Justice alleged Apple engaged in a price-fixing scheme with book publishers, which Apple denied — the DOJ originally filed the suit in April 2012. A non-jury trial on the case is scheduled to start on June 3. The trial could last as long as three weeks. [via Bloomberg]